Fiat-Chrysler?

[Tom Lesko <tmlesko@domain.elided>]

> >From the Detroit News:
>
>     MILAN, Italy -- "Shares of Fiat SpA, Italy's biggest industrial
company,
> rose as much as 5.76 percent after Italian daily Il Giornale reported
that
> Fiat is close to concluding a share swap with DaimlerChrysler AG.
>     "Fiat's shares rose as much as 1.6 euros, to 29.35, in Milan. They
were
> recently at 29.08. DaimlerChrysler shares rose as much as 2.1 euros,
or 3.13
> percent, to 69.2.
>     "Neither Fiat nor DaimlerChrysler would comment on the Il Giornale

> report.
>     "The share exchange of an unspecified size would lead to
DaimlerChrysler
> taking control of Fiat's auto unit, the newspaper said. The Agnelli
family,
> which controls Fiat, would end up with a stake in DaimlerChrysler.
>     "An announcement of the agreement is not expected before March,
the
> paper said.
>     "'Such a deal is logical for both groups,' Philip Crate, the head
of
> credit research at BNP Capital Markets in London, wrote in a report
> Thursday. Fiat offers DaimlerChrysler the small-car expertise it
seeks,
> while Fiat benefits from the German-U.S. company's size and its
research and
> distribution capacities.
>     "Fiat, the world's sixth-largest carmaker, has been the subject of

> speculation for more than a year that it's seeking a strategic
alliance with
> a larger rival because it isn't big enough to compete on global
markets
> alone."

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